Blogging Resources ~ In the Mirror of God

When it comes to starting a blog or website, there are a ton of blogging resources and tools to choose from. This can make it difficult to figure out what you actually need to get started. This page is my official list of recommended resources for getting started with online blogging. All items are products that I have fully vetted. In fact, every single item on this page is what I personally use here on In the Mirror of God.

Disclaimer: Some of the links below are affiliate links and I will earn a commission should you choose to make a purchase. There is no additional cost to you. I encourage you to do your due diligence and research each product on your own. Then make a purchase ONLY if you feel that solution is what you need and will help grow your online business or ministry. You can read my full disclaimer here.

REGISTERING YOUR DOMAIN

Get Namecheap

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Namecheap

My personal recommendation for registering your domain is Namecheap. They are super easy to work with.

Namecheap also provides free WhoisGuard (to protect your contact info), and has a great interface to use to manage your domains.

WEBSITE START-UP

Get WordPress

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WordPress

Over 60 million people worldwide choose WordPress.com to create their websites!

Whether you're a new blogger or have had your website for years now and want an overhaul, WordPress is the way to go for building your business! It is not only the most powerful platform, but the most popular.

You can create a FREE website or build a blog with ease, with dozens of FREE, customizable, mobile-ready designs and themes. FREE hosting and support. Excellent for beginners!

WEBSITE HOSTING

Get SiteGround

SiteGround

SiteGround

SiteGround is my absolute top website hosting recommendation! They run an amazing operation and their hosting speed is awesome.

Your WordPress site comes with a plug-in specific to SiteGround that gives many of the same optimization features of paid WordPress optimization plug-ins.

What I love most is that their support is phenomenal compared to every other web host I've tried. If you are looking to keep your WordPress site but want to move to self-hosting while you keep all your WordPress capabilities, plus add on a ton more options, then SiteGround is the way to go!

LANDING PAGES & MARKETING

Get Thrive Architect

Thrive Architect

Thrive Architect

For anyone using WordPress, Thrive Architect is my top recommended tool for building amazing pages for your website. It allows you to build without using any code, and is super easy to use.

Not to mention the fact that this is only one of several tools offered by Thrive Themes that would work wonders for your marketing.

This is truly one of the smartest investments any blogger can possibly make.

EMAIL MARKETING

Get Aweber

Thrive Architect

Aweber

If you are looking for ALL the essential tools you need to send emails the right way, then choose Aweber for Email Marketing! They are a solid company with a stellar reputation.

They have a 30-day free trial period which is more than enough time to test and evaluate their awesome platform. I learned the ins and outs of the their system in one weekend. Their tutorials and online resources are phenomenal!

If you are just starting out with your business and want the best of the best for an amazing price, then Aweber is the way to go.

SITE GRAPHICS AND DESIGNS

Get Canva

Thrive Architect

Canva

Canva is by far your secret weapon for stunning designs for your website!.

You can literally create and design anything in minutes, with thousands of beautiful templates and images to choose from.

Their basic plan is absolutely FREE! Plus you can try Canva Pro FREE for 30 days and cancel anytime.

TURNING YOUR BLOG INTO A BUSINESS

Try the BMA

Thrive Architect

Blog Marketing Academy (BMA)

There are thousands of "bloggers" today that call themselves "business owners." But, most have failed to realize that a blog is NOT a business! It is a marketing platform that you can use to grow a business. You're either a blogger OR a business owner with a blog.

There is no one who does a better job than David Risley through his Blog Marketing Academy explaining the absolute BEST way to get you from blogger to business owner. If you are just getting started or don't even have a website yet, he will even show you how to "test" your business idea first BEFORE you invest time and resources into building out your site.

With over 20 years of experience and online success, his dynamic training is direct, simple and very detailed - guaranteed to equip you with everything you need to succeed in your online business.

CHRISTIAN BLOGGING SUPPORT

Thrive Architect

Kingdom Bloggers

Kingdom Bloggers was created to help Christian bloggers and writers optimize their blogs for organic search traffic, and to showcase their content to help get "more Jesus on the internet".

Apart from all the other tools listed above, Kingdom Bloggers, is the main resource that has helped me develop my site the most - from both a spiritual and technical perspective.

If your blog is primarily Christian themed and you are looking for the BEST training and information on growing your reach from an SEO perspective, as well as, on a spiritual level, then subscribe for FREE today. Kingdom Bloggers offers a TON of resources, training, and opportunities to connect with other faith-based writers!

Visit Kingdom Bloggers

Social Warfare Pro

The best social media plug-in for WordPress!

Social Warfare adds beautiful, lightning-fast social share buttons to your website or blog. But, most importantly, it allows you to tweak how every piece of content looks on your social media channels. You control what people share, and how they share it.

Get Social Warfare

Tailwind

My favorite social scheduling tool that gets real results in less time.

Tailwind will supercharge your Pinterest and Instagram marketing! It allows you to automatically pin or post at the best times for more engagement, reach and website traffic with one tool. And, they have a FREE trial period!

Get Tailwind

Keywords Everywhere

My absolute favorite SEO tool!

Keywords Everywhere shows you monthly search volume, cost per click and competition data of keywords on multiple websites.

It will save you a ton of time, as it gives you all the key data you need and more, right inside your browser search page.

Get Keywords Everywhere